You know what time it is! The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has already started, which means everyone is in Bracket Mode. It really is a wonderful time of year. Up here in the northernmost state in the contiguous U.S., the snow is still trying to fall, though the end is in sight. Gardeners have started their seeds, there are days when the windows can be opened, and, of course, there are brackets to be filled out—and busted.
No, not those silly basketball or hockey brackets. We’re talking Bourbon Brackets. And let me tell you, this really is my favorite time of year. In fact, I enjoy it so much that whenever I decide to hang up the ol’ keyboard, I already know what my last series of posts will be: brackets. But don’t worry—that’s a ways off yet. I’d like to make it to at least 15 years of publishing first.
And let me tell you, this year’s competition is a good one. Of the seven major bourbon producers that existed when I started this site (Beam/Maker’s, Buffalo Trace/Barton, MGP (now including Lux Row), Heaven Hill, Four Roses, Wild Turkey, and Brown-Forman), five are represented this year. The other two have been featured often enough that I used their spots for some newer faces.
The Selection Rules
This year’s selection process was simple:
The bourbon had to be in a 750 mL bottle
It had to cost under $25
That’s it!
For seeding, I sorted by proof first, followed by stated age (if applicable), and then used price as the final tiebreaker. Here’s what that got us:
Division 1
Seed 1: Benchmark Bonded
A reader suggestion from last year. It's not available in Minnesota (that I’ve seen), so I grabbed it at Binny’s Beverage Depot in Chicago for $19.99 back in September of 2024. 100 proof.
Nonsense name: Baffled Toaster
Seed 2: Rebel 100
The first of three wheated bourbons in the competition—and the cheapest of the three 100-proof bottles.
Purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel (Prior Lake, MN) for $17.09.
Nonsense name: Grumpy Cloud
Seed 3: Jim Beam Black
The newly age-stated 7-year-old version, bottled at 90 proof.
Purchased at Total Wine (Burnsville, MN) for $20.99.
Nonsense name: Wobbly Cactus
Seed 4: Old Bardstown
The only true craft whiskey in the contest, distilled by Willett in Bardstown, KY, and bottled at 90 proof.
Purchased at South Lyndale Liquor (Minneapolis, MN) for $21.99.
Nonsense name: Rusty Marshmallow
Division 2
Seed 1: Jeppson’s 100 Proof
A sourced bourbon from the folks in Chicago who make Malört.
Purchased at South Lyndale Liquor (Minneapolis, MN) for $19.99.
Nonsense name: Gleaming Pancake
Seed 2: Larceny Bourbon
The second of three wheated bourbons, coming in at 92 proof.
Purchased at Total Wine (Burnsville, MN) for $22.99.
Nonsense name: Soggy Parrot
Seed 3: Maker’s Mark Bourbon
The final wheated bourbon in the contest—also the lowest proof (90 proof) and highest price of the three.
Purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel (Prior Lake, MN) for $24.97.
Nonsense name: Lumpy Telescope
Seed 4: Old Forester 86 Proof
The lowest proof of the contest, making it the lowest seed.
Purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel (Prior Lake, MN) for $22.49.
Nonsense name: Zesty Doorknob
Keeping It Blind: The Setup
Of course, that list doesn’t eliminate inherent bias, does it? So, as usual, we took a few extra steps to keep the tasting blind—while still keeping track of what advanced.
Here’s how we set it up (it’s an oh-so-simple process):
I seeded the whiskey in the bracket as listed above.
I poured 200 mL bottles of each bourbon and labeled them with their nonsense names.
I made a separate bracket using only the nonsense names and handed it, along with the bottles, to my wife.
From there, she takes over.
She doesn’t know what’s in each bottle (thanks to the nonsense names).
She pours and keeps track of the winners.
All I have to do is taste, write, and pick my favorite. It’s a pretty slick system.
The empty bracket is below, and as usual, there were plenty of storylines and surprises along the way—wheated matchups, high proof vs. low proof, price battles, and more. But that’s for the future. In the meantime, who you got? Let us know down in the comments!
If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.
